Australian Customs Finds Parrot Eggs in Smuggler's Pants

SYDNEY, Australia, November 15, 2004 (ENS) - A Sydney man has been charged under the country's biodiversity conservation law after allegedly trying to smuggle parrot eggs out of Australia in his underpants.

On Friday afternoon, the 50 year old man, due to leave Sydney on a flight to Zurich, was detained by Customs officers at Sydney International Airport for a frisk search.

The officers allegedly discovered 23 eggs hidden in the passenger's pants.

Customs investigators charged the man, from Lurnea, New South Wales, under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act with attempting to export regulated native specimens.

Australia's superb parrot is in great demand for the pet trade. (Photo by G. Chapman courtesy Australia Dept. Environment & Heritage (DEH))

They are currently in an incubator, and if viable, their species will be determined when they hatch.

The latest detection is a result of inquiries conducted by Australian Customs and the Department of the Environment and Heritage.

"Cooperation and intelligence sharing between government agencies has stopped another alleged wildlife smuggler from leaving the country," Viles said. "This seizure demonstrates that Customs officers are very effective in stopping the cruel trade in wildlife smuggling."

The man appeared in Downing Centre District Court on Saturday and was granted bail. He is scheduled to appear before the juudge on December 14.

He faces a maximum penalty for wildlife smuggling of imprisonment for 10 years and/or a $110,000 fine.

Many of Australia's most brilliantly colored parrots are endangered because they are in such high demand in the pet trade.

Golden-shouldered parrot, Psephotus chrysopterygius (Photo courtesy DEH)

Considered rare and vulnerable, although not endangered, the superb parrot, Polytelis swainsonii, is a hardy bird which can live for up to 25 years. Unique to the Murray-Darling Basin, it occurs mainly in the red gum forests and black box woodlands of the Riverina and northern Victoria, but its range is very restricted and numbers are diminishing.

The bright blue bird known simply as the turquoise parrot, Neophema pulchella, frequently inhabits remnant vegetation adjoining farmland. A massive decline in the population occurred between 1900 and 1920, however, this species has slowly recovered.

But the illegal trade in parrot eggs is brisk. In July, a Malaysian man was sentenced in Downing Centre Court to two years and three months in prison after he admitted to importing parrot eggs into Australia without a permit. Customs officers at Sydney airport discovered he was wearing a purpose-built body vest which contained 41 parrot eggs.

In October, Customs officers at Sydney Airport detained two passengers when they discovered parrot eggs in their clothing.

One man was allegedly attempting to leave the country with 24 eggs concealed in a body vest. The other arrived on a flight from Johannesburg, allegedly with nine eggs concealed in his underpants.